The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Lexington should be used to estimate when to plant monarda.

Planting Calendar for Monarda

Frost tolerance for monarda:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Monarda do ok in some cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant monarda in Lexington is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant monarda and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your monarda may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your monarda indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Lexington the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lexington and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Lexington there is a last frost after March 15 so always be ready to cover your monarda if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lexington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Lexington

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lexington.